1 Zenobia and the Rebellion of The Palmyrene Empire INTRODUCTION: Over this past weekend, the ancient city of Palmyra--once a wealthy city well placed on the Eastern trade route (the "Silk Road") of the Roman Empire and still now full of important monuments--has been making worldwide news. As of Friday, ISIS troops were advancing towards the city. Because of the destruction of the ancient Assyrian ruins in Nimrud by ISIS in April, many people are worried about the fate of Palmyra. By Saturday, according Figure 1: The Site of Palmyra to reports, ISIS had control of the ancient city, but by Sunday, the Syrian Governor of the region declared that the ISIS forces had been pushed back ("Syria Conflict"). Even still, on the day that I am finishing this report, UNESCO (the U.N. sub-group in charge of World Heritage sites like Palmyra) issued a statement warning the world that the city is still in danger (Aucott).
2 All of this led me to the first version of my research question: why does Palmyra matter so much? In other words, why is it a World Heritage site that needs to be protected? UNESCO describes Palmyra as "one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world" which seems to be largely because of its placement on the trade route that connected the Roman Empire with ancient China, India, and Persia (Aucott). This strategic position meant that the city became very wealthy in the first few centuries CE and it meant that Palmyra was a city that blended many different cultures. Unfortunately, Palmyra's strategic position is what endangers it today as Palmyra is in a key position in the Syrian Civil War between two major Syrian centres, Homs and Damascus ("Syrian Conflict"). The ruins at Palmyra, because of its wealth and cultural influences in ancient times, are extensive and impressive (see Figure 1). All that being said, after reading more about Palmyra, I discovered a series of events that seem to be the most famous from Palmyra and the most worth investigating for this assignment: Queen Zenobia's shortlived rebellion against the Roman Empire and declaration of herself as an empress herself. That discovery led me to a more fitting question for this assignment: what caused the rebellion of Palmyra led by Queen Zenobia and what were the consequences of it?
3 PART 1: The Rebellion First of all, I should say that there is some argument about the nature of Zenobia's actual rebellion. Edward Gibbon, in his famous book called The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, says that Zenobia declared herself "Queen of the East" and some historians even say that she had designs on the entire Roman Empire, but the truth seems to be that she was quite crafty about the way she gained power (Gibbon). That is, Zenobia did not demonstrate her true ambitions to Rome right away and because of that it is hard to know the depth of her rebellion. That being said, since an emperor of Rome eventually needed to face her in two battles to defeat her, it is clear that what she was doing was not approved by the Roman Empire. Zenobia was officially regent queen of Syria and its capital Palmyra because her son, Vaballathus, was too young to lead after her husband was assassinated. In other words, it was her job to rule the country until her son Vaballathus came of age. In her capacity as regent, in 269 CE, she sent a general to capture Egypt for herself after possibly getting someone to fake a rebellion in Egypt. Figure 2: The two sides of an Egyptian coin minted by Zenobia when in control of the country. It shows her son's name (Vaballathus) one one side and the Roman Emperor (Aurelian) on the other. The reason she may have faked the
4 rebellion was so that she could say she was claiming Egypt in the name of Rome. When a Roman army arrived, they fought her forces, but her general defeated the Roman forces and from then on she claimed her son as the official ruler of Egypt (Mark). From here, Zenobia and her army, through military victories but mostly through treaties, gained control over an area stretching across modern-day Syria, Iraq, Turkey, and Egypt which came to be known as the Palmyrene Empire. This was a serious threat to Rome's power as control of Egypt meant control over the main food source of Rome. At one point, Zenobia Figure 3: Zenobia's Palmyrene Empire at its height in 271 CE (on the right). declared herself "Augusta" and referred to her son as "Augustus". These titles, which came from the first Roman emperor, were normally only used by the imperial family of Rome. PART 2: The Causes The first cause that I can identify is the amount of power Palmyra and Syria had gained. Zenobia's husband, Lucius Septimus Odaenthus, Governor of Syria, had been a loyal servant to the Roman Empire with a
5 number of impressive feats on his resume: rescuing the captured Roman Emperor Valerian from the Sassanids and defending Valerian's son Gallienius' position as emperor by defeating a man named Quietus who had claimed the title. Although all of these accomplishments may seem to prove Odaenthus', and his wife Zenobia's, loyalty to Rome, they also reveal his level of power (ie) he was the one saving the Roman Empire on two occasions. If the Roman Empire were functioning properly, a provincial governor would not have to save it. This feeling of power made Rome grateful but also made Zenobia bold once she took power (Mark). Another factor was that the Roman Empire was a mess. During the "Crisis of the Third Century", there was a 50-year stretch where there were 26 people who claimed the position of emperor (Hurley). It makes sense that during a time like this Zenobia might feel that she would at least have a chance at carving out her own kingdom and would even Figure 4: A bust of Zenobia from the Vatican Museum in Rome. dream of more (ie) declare herself as "Augusta".
6 Besides conquering Egypt for strategic reasons, Zenobia may have done so because she claimed to be a descendant of Cleopatra VII, the last pharaoh of Egypt. PART 3: The Consequences The consequences of the rebellion for Palmyra were devastating. Aurelian defeated Zenobia in two separate battles. In these battles, he used the same strategy: pretending to retreat and then turning around and outflanking her troops--this was possibly another sign of the weakening of the Roman empire. By 273 CE, the rebellion had ended and after a siege of Palmyra, the was destroyed. It never reached the same heights of wealth and power again (Hurley). Another consequence is that this rebellion is generally considered to be a sign of the fading power of the Roman empire (Gibbon). If that fact is apparent to historians, then it was probably apparent to enemies of Rome at the time (ie) other powers saw that Rome was not as mighty as it used to be. Finally, since Zenobia's rebellion, she has been held up as an example of a powerful female leader during a time when it was very difficult to have an impact as a woman. CONCLUSION:
7 One thing that this investigation shows is the cyclical nature of history. Over 1700 years ago, two powers fought over Palmyra because of its strategic position, and now two forces are doing the same. In some respects, this is frustrating. It also, however, illustrates unchanging aspects of human nature. Either way, this story of Zenobia is one example of why ancient relics like those at Palmyra should be respected. They are the evidence of a vibrant, multicultural city that was willing to take on the most powerful empire on earth. Photo Credits: Figure 1 = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/23 Figure 2 = http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/vabalathus/i.html Figure 3 = Figure 4 =
8 Works Cited Aucott, Alexander. "UNESCO Calls for Palmyra Protection as ISIL Withdraws from City." EuroNews. EuroNews, 18 May 2015. Web. 18 May 2015. Gibbon, Edward. "Chapter 11: Fall In The West." The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire. Christian Classics Ethereal Library at Calvin College. Web. 18 May 2015. Hurley, Patrick. "Aurelian." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History Encyclopedia Limited, 20 Mar. 2011. Web. 19 May 2015. Mark, Joshua J. "Zenobia." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History Encyclopedia Limited, 14 Sept. 2014. Web. 18 May 2015. Norris, David A. "Zenobia Of Palmyra." History Magazine 16.4 (2015): 31-33. History Reference Center. Web. 19 May 2015. "Syria Conflict: IS 'withdraws' from Ancient Palmyra - BBC News." BBC News. BBC News Services, 17 May 2015. Web. 18 May 2015.